Fleeting Ambience of the Calm
by LunaDiamond
Summary: [Cross-posted from AO3] And they forge on without an end in mind, trying to pick up the pieces of their crumbling world, always with the shadows creeping in their footsteps. SaguShin, KaiShin & HeiShin - Chain Chronicle AU


Notes: be absolutely warned that there are GIANT plot holes that I'm not bothered to patch.

Also, I guess this could count as a songfic..?

Lyrics are translated from the japanese song 'Words of the Farthest Ends' by Yuuhei Satellite.

Translation credits to AmenTranslations from WordPress

Also, this is set in the Chain Chronicle game 'verse, but may contain spoilers for the storyline. My referral code's 192,412,744.

-.-.-

 _Down from the sky the variety of sounds of the "end",  
Shroud the world, and resounds through the air._

Kaito's breath grew ragged and heavy, his magic's hue and brightness paling with every shot towards the monsters. The rabid clashing of swords and weapons and damn schreeching and howling was burning into his ears.

Saguru, behind him, looked no better. His blonde hair was tussled and wild, and his arms shook like a leaf in the wind, yet his arrows never gave up confidence, as he reached back into his quiver for a new batch. The determination of a Ranger. Kaito grimaced and turned back towards the battlefield. _This damn Black Army really doesn't give up, do they?_ He gritted.

He hears Heiji's roars in the midst of the black-cloaked creatures, anger and fury lashing out with every slash of his sword and the echoes of the metal of his shield.

He hears Ran, wild like a hurricane, long, dark hair a blur, her fist weapons a blur, but her injuries can't last her much longer than this. Soldiers weren't made to withstand heavy damage, unlike Heiji, a Knight, who looks to be sporting a cracked rib and a wound on his leg.

This leads Kaito, as he pauses to catch his breath and let his luminance supply replenish, to glance worriedly at Shinichi, and his brows furrowed and breathing heavy with every raise of his staff.

The boy was tired, no doubt, but had to be near the middle of the field, in front of Kaito and Saguru, to let his healing range reach the other two.

Shinichi's always felt useless, unable to do anything but heal, heal, _heal_. Kaito gently reminds him that he's a Cleric, and he's saved their asses so many times already with his skills.

 _Words of the farthest ends.  
I wish for the time when I can say them._

Sometimes, the Magician wants to reach out to the Cleric and let him into his arms, and caress him, whisper to him that they'll be fine, that Shinichi's just dragging himself down, that he's special to the entire team.

That he's special to Kaito.

But he can't, not when the world's like this and when everything can crumble at a slight touch, and innocent people dying almost every hour.

So every night, when he sees the sun dying out on the mountains and hill, and night engulfing them, he heaves a sigh and stares out, wondering how they even survived to this point in time.

 _The life of this planet,  
Will likely come to its final breath with us together won't it..?_

"This world is dying, slowly from the inside out."

He's come to say that phrase more times than he's cared to imagine, but he does admit, if Heiji, Shinichi, Ran and, even Saguru weren't here, he won't have much to live for, really.

His father was his joy and everyday and his life. He admired the 5-star Magician, the leader of his guild. He learnt tricks and tips and all kinds of fascinating things with his father, while his mother smiled with fond exasperation. His old life was almost perfect, for him at least.

Then came the Black Army, the murders and the unknown, monsters, goblins, skeletons and all kinds of the supernatural appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

Toichi was called out to the field regularly, to support the Holy Queen and the Holy Capital, even when the Kuroba family resided in the Vice Capital.

 _While I let out a sigh,  
You're now, far off, a small figure in the distance._

Day by day, his father grew weary. Bags formed under his eyes, and his voice had an old, worn tone to it.

Kaito noticed, and so did Chikage. His mother even tried to convince her husband to stay back with Yuusaku, their Cleric friend, to heal, but the Magician just shook his head quietly.

"People out there are dying, Chikage, darling. I need to do what I can. I need to do all this so when Kaito becomes a Magician himself, he can eventually see the world's beauties rather than it's abnormalities and monstrosity."

And so, Toichi grew more and more distant, further and further away, until one day, he was gone without a trace.

 _Rather than instinct, reason took the lead._

And Kaito and Chikage mourned and grieved, knowing that he's lost, that he might be dead, or he might have been taken a prisoner by the Black Army. It wounded the two to no end, but they moved one, afraid to stitch up the gash on their hearts in fear that their memory of Toichi will be lost while doing so.

And the monsters dared set their beady, red eyes on the Vice Capital, their home.

They were everywhere, lurking everywhere, like a mould, undisturbed and gradually spreading out and along the wall without resistance. It was like a disease, spreading, and blackening everything around it and leaving a trail of mourning and loss and destruction in its wake.

Kaito hated them.

He trained, day and night, and hoped that he could reach his father's level, and maybe avenge him, and maybe eradicate the beasts that surely took Kuroba Toichi's life. He grit his teeth and continued straining himself, and pushing to his limits until he couldn't anymore, and Chikage came and laid a blanket on the dozing boy and glanced back with worrisome eyes.

After all, there was no one Kaito came to admire and worship more than his father.

And it was just such an explosive irony that he's ended up killing Toichi by his own spells.

He found the former Magician on the fifth day of the monster invasion on their district in the Vice Capital, and neither Kuroba could believe their eyes as they froze.

The head of the family was made into the monsters, dead and eyes lifeless, but could still be recognised. He carried himself along in a grotesque manner, and, along the other monsters storming the area, he was headed right for the boy and his mother.

So Kaito, he closed his eyes, and fired his father's powerful, former spell at the creator himself, and couldn't bare to unplug his ears to hear the inhumane screeching and howling from the entity.

He could still feel the many others of the same kind, possibly once human, headed towards them. They howl, and the gust of wind lets Kaito know that they're pouncing. Ready to kill. Bloodthirsty.

And when he finally opens his eyes again, he sees an angel.

A boy his age, with a healing staff – clearly a cleric – holding his weapon up against the inhumanity and struggled to overcome the strength on him. He looked back with blue, blue, _worried_ eyes.

"You alright?" He asks, before gritting and turning to the black being in front of him, "Shit," He whispers.

"Mou, _Dammit_ Shinichi, stop running off-!" A girl, long and flowy blown hair, maybe slightly older than the two, came rushing up and drew her sword with a swift, fluid motion, and sliced clean through the monster with ease. It crumpled to the ground, and it's companions retreat, sensing a threat.

Chikage fainted, while Kaito slumped to the ground, unsure whether it was from fear or relief.

 _Ever since that time when I burned with love there have remained no chances to speak these words._

And so, as the years wore by, flowing without pause, Kaito left his home, promising his mother that he's still send letters via his messenger doves (A Kuroba family tradition).

He joined up with the boy who saved his life – _Shinichi_ – and Ran, both he's so deeply in debt for.

He sees deep, lurking shadows in both of their eyes. He's aware of the own darkness behind his violet orbs as well, so silent sympathy and understanding is shared. He doesn't speak for any longer than necessary about any of their pasts.

And he's begun to grow attached to them.

He doesn't even realise it. It's a bit like how one day you wake up, stare and stare up at the ceiling and realise that you've already lived for so long.

But he doesn't mind the least. It's been fun, having friends around to care for you. Somewhere along the way, they picked up Saguru, who insisted on coming with the trio (Kaito, in all honesty, thought he was a hybrid of an ass and a prick).

Heiji, Shinichi's long time best friend, came along. He was like a whirlwind, Kaito mused, like he just came rolling along from just around the corner and began sticking to them like glue, insisting how "Kudou's way too fragile fer the battlefield."

So their little team was assembled. As Ran's mother was a high official in the government, they were permitted extermination missions and travelling. Kaito remembers how he chirps up to his father, exclaiming how they can both take Chikage to see the sights outside the Vice Capital. Toichi merely shakes his head sadly, and ruffles his son's hair.

Sometimes, he looks back, and wonders why he didn't ever ask why.

 _I closed my eyes, and sealed off my history._

And Kaito, every night, looks over to Shinichi, dozing slightly next to the campfire, and he smiles, knowing that, in a generation like this, so dark and so cruel, there was no time for feelings like Kaito's.

And he closes his eyes and allows the tendrils of a dreamless night wash over him, pulling him in and in.

 _I drown out and erase hidden feelings like this…_

Shinichi stares up to the sky longingly.

It's been a long road, a winded one too. He's content, happy, but there's always a small hint of wistfulness in his tone of voice. He notices, but he doesn't change.

The others will notice if he changes.

So he's become a mask, covering everything. He's afraid that he'd burden the others, his friends who are so strong and full of fire and determination.

Shinichi isn't any of these things. How could he possibly be when he doesn't even remember a whole chunk of his life?

So he closes his eyes, sucks in a breath, and lets the memories wander in his mind.

He was found in the middle of a field, alone and unconscious. The breeze whipping gently around him, and the smell of grass surrounding him. He doesn't want to move. He doesn't open his eyes, and lets himself lie there, slowly falling into oblivion again.

And he's pulled out of it again, from the violent shaking of his shoulders. Slowly, he opens his eyes, and comes face to face with a woman, ashen blonde curls framing her face and a worrisome expression pasted on her face.

Shinichi squints his eyes from the sun.

"Are you alright?" She asks, voice soft, as if she's murmuring to an injured kitten.

Shinichi groans in response, and realises that he's being asked a question.

"I'm.. fine," He almost winces at how cracked his voice sounds.

The woman frowns, seemingly unconvinced, before turning.

"Yuusaku!" She hollers, "Can you come over here for a second? I found a little boy."

A man sporting a large pair of glasses rushes over with a concerned look covering his face and entire body language, "Is he okay, Yukiko?"

The woman, Yukiko, faces Shinichi, "What's your name?" She asks softly.

The boy pauses, before opening his mouth with uncertainty, "Sh.. Shinichi..?" He hadn't meant for it to be a question.

"This is bad, he's got amnesia. Let's take him back to Winged Heights. That's where the closest medic centre is." Yuusaku nods. Shinichi blinks slowly in confusion.

"Let's go."

-.-.-

Life flowed along well. He was taken in by the couple, and given an education. He was found to be exceptionally bright, and took little to no interest with playing with toys and forming a social foundation. He befriended a girl, the same age and glittering periwinkle eyes, at first, only purely by necessity. Yuusaku and Yukiko travelled around a lot, and left their surrogate son to their next door neighbours, the Mouri family.

When he reached the age where he could attend school, a group, consisting of Mitsuhiko, Ayumi and Genta. Shinichi, exasperated, eventually let them under his wing. Ran found it quite endearing, from the sidelines.

They grew up peacefully, and time slid by, quietly, unknowingly, and before they knew it, they were all fourteen.

It was one of the darkest nights of Shinichi's life.

He was called to the medic clinic, just a few blocks away from their home, and one of the biggest in the Borderton. Nurses and doctors scuttled about, and the clamour was quite near to deafening.

He was escorted into a patients room – Room 4869 – and on the bed, he saw his mother, with IV drips hanging around her to the point where, if she dared to sit up, she would possibly choke. Her shoulder was wrapped tightly with pristine white bandages, but no longer the pure shade.

It was a diseased shade of black, splotched and spreading and eating away at her from the inside out. Even as Shinichi stood there in the doorway frozen, with Ran behind her trembling, he could see her melancholic smile growing more and more monstrous by the second.

It was _sickening_ , to see something this impure and cannibalistic in the world.

"Kaa-san."

"Shinichi, I'm home," She hiccupped, and shifted slightly so her head was resting more comfortably on the pillow.

"..'I'm'..?" Cerulean orbs widened.

Yukiko's smile faltered, and her eyes dulled just a bit more. The heart monitor to the side beeped unknowingly in the tense silence.

"..Where's tou-san?" Shinichi swallowed, honestly not wanting to ask this question.

The cleric closed her eyes, slumping into the bed, aura heavy, and she suddenly seemed to age thirty years in one go.

"He.." The blonde's voice quivered, "He.. he was a man of honour. He will be remembered."

Shinichi stilled. He had known his father to never give up at any rate, a determined man, that was what he was. It shocked the boy to the core, to suddenly come home one day, everything like normal (Normal, Shinichi laughed bitterly, was a brittle and mediocre word) and suddenly, at the drop of a hat, everything in his life flips upside down and inside out, a complete five-hundred and forty degrees.

"Yukiko," Shinichi hissed, and the bedridden woman winced at the use of her first name by her own son, "Give it to me in bare, stripped words. Where is my father?"

A wobbly sigh, "..He's dead, Shinichi. He died protecting me from a golem."

Shinichi breathed stiffly, and walked over to his mother's side, and placed a hand on his remaining family's own, clammy ones. Yukiko sobbed quietly, choked up on her own words.

"I'm sorry," He whispered, "I'm sorry."

"You?" Her voice came out raspy.

The blue-eyed boy shook his head sadly, "I'm not your biological son. Never was. I can't feel the pain to your extent," He hung his head, "I was probably a burden to both of you. With me at home, you two couldn't go around as freely as you've like before, and it was me that pulled you back at the last mission resulting compulsory attendance in this mission.." He laughed. It was bitter and broken, and the sound curved around the water dripping down his cheeks.

He looked up with a jolt when the smiling woman lightly brushed a hand over his forehead.

"Shinichi. To Yuu-chan and my eyes, you were always our son, our little angel. We're sorry, so sorry.. we weren't fit to be the ones to raise you and love you."

"But kaa-san, where do I.." He swallowed, "Where do I go now?"

His mother smiled, and looked over to Ran, who was looking to the ground with little tears streaking down her face, and the female cleric laughed, "There's always Ran-chan, isn't there?"

The girl realised she was being addressed to, and nodded hastily, "Shinichi, I'm here if you need me," She cracked a smile.

Yukiko closed her eyes again, loosening her grip on Shinichi's, "Ah, I guess it's all well and good now," And to Shinichi's horror, the blackening on her shoulder began to climb over rapidly to her collarbones, and to the corner of her face, before it suddenly slowed, and Yukiko strained her grip on Shinichi's hand.

'Sorry," She panted, "One more thing, over by the corner is Yuu-chan's Holy Weapon. His last wish was for you to follow our paths," She wheezed, a burdened smile and drops of tears flowing freely, "Please.. please remember your father and me, please.."

"W-wait! Kaa-san!" Shinichi yelled in horror, and tried to reach out, but froze. The woman lying in front of him was still, face still with an apologetic expression carved in it. The remaining warm, bubbly aura around his mother had dispersed.

"..Shinichi," He turned to see Ran, who was holding a Cane of Yunagi, bright and glowing with a soft, orange light, and Shinichi twitched his lips upwards.

"..Thank you, Ran."

-.-.-

Heiji met Shinichi at a Tavern, where he, admittedly, was drinking his ass off from his break-up with Kazuha, and just happened to spot the boy sitting alone, twirling his toothpick around idly. His friend with long brown hair (He's assuming a Soldier) was chatting away with another sassy blonde girl (Ranger..?).

So, in need of some company, Heiji picked himself up and sat himself down in the seat next to the blue-eyed boy, startling him.

"Hey, you okay? You've been twiddlin' with that stick for a while," Heiji asked.

He looked up, confused, "Yeah, I'm fine, just.. thinking about things."

"Ah," Heiji nodded, not wanting to pry. People say he's hot-blooded, brash, rough and rude etcetera, etcetera but he's not the type to miss obvious body language, and this boy's clearing states that something heavy's happened to him.

"You a Knight?" He asks suddenly, motioning to Heiji's shield on the side. The tanned boy scratched his cheek, "Yeah, Cleric, I'm guessing?" He earned a slow nod.

"Oh, I haven't even introduced myself yet. Hattori Heiji here," He grinned, holding out a hand. The dark-haired boy's smile was strained, but took the handshake anyway.

"Kudou.." He paused at the word, edge of the syllable rolling off his tongue, "..Shini-"

"Ne, Shinichi, did you make a new friend? That's pretty uncommon!" The brown-haired girl from before came up to the two, laughing. She earned a twitch of the eye in return.

"No, Ran, I met Hattori just a few minutes ago. What happened to 'girl stuff' with Sonoko?" Shinichi scowled. Hattori noted the casual stating of his surname with glee.

"Eh, we're finished, I just wanted to see how you're doing with the Tavern atmosphere. You never like these kinds of places," There was a touch of concern in the girls voice, before she turned to the green-eyed, "Oh, I'm sorry, I'm Mouri Ran, and Shinichi here's not used to noisy placed and crowded areas," She cracked a smile.

"Hattori Heiji."

And before Heiji even knew what he was doing, he agreed to travel along with the two around to who-knows-where. He just shrugs and says to himself that he enjoys the company, and maybe, just maybe, he's a bit attracted to these glittering ocean orbs from Shinichi.

But like hell is he admitting it.

-.-.-

Hakuba Saguru was slightly dumbfounded when he found a tanned teen chopping down a tree in his estate near the town of Barrierboro.

Apparently this Hattori Heiji was gathering wood for the campfire for his 'team mates'. Saguru, always brimming with scepticism, decides to tag along with the guy, and possibly chew him out slightly about the laws of property damage amongst other things, such as the fact that Hattori's accent is thoroughly ridiculous in his eyes.

His surprise-o-meter is upped a notch when he discovers that a small swarm of monsters are headed for their way, and the team springs into action, and coordinates almost perfectly (They were only a three-man team after all).

And so the blonde takes initiative, and joins into the fight, and was glad that he had remembered to bring his bow – a Prism Star – and his arrows, sniping off the monstrosities one by one, assisting off the sidelines. He earned several glances of thanks during the battle itself. Even with his inexperience, he was faring well, if not a bit shakily. But he trusted the other three to protect him and the blue-eyed boy, the Cleric of the group.

And then they stood, heaving, with corpses scattered around them. It was like a scene of a horror movie, with slaughter and massacre and carnage, _but this is real,_ Saguru swallowed, _it's all real_.

Saguru realises he hasn't seen enough to know, to wrap his head around the happenings of the outside world. Sure, he's fended off some goblins and slimes trying to infiltrate his home, but somewhere out there, there's a much bigger battle waging. And so the blonde shakes his head, and finally turns to the group – still slightly tipsy from adrenaline – and asks.

"May I.. travel with your group?"

-.-.-

 _Unable to see anything but the horizon,  
there's nowhere left to hide our bodies._

"We have.. reliable sources informing us that the Black Army is planning to infiltrate the Lake of Sand.." Megure, the guild leader of Division One, trails off, before shaking his head slightly and turning towards the group, "You've all been assigned a mission to- "A brief, hesitant pause, "-Protect Queen Miyano at all times."

"Damn, the desert now?" Kaito muttered under his breath, while Saguru and Shinichi nod solemnly.

"Maybe because the Lake of Sand is weak right now with the lack of reinforcements from Soul Island and the Nine Territories since both regions are in a huge dispute?" Ran reasoned.

"They had ta pick the desert! The hell!" Heiji threw his arms up, and Saguru shot him a glare, "Hattori-kun, this mission is compulsory, whether you appreciate the aspects or not."

"Shinichi? How do you feel about it?" Kaito turned to the blue-eyed boy with a raised eyebrow.

"Let's go, if Miyano-san's ragion falls, we'll be following soon after."

-.-.-

 _Words of the farthest ends._

"Shit, shit, _shit_ ," Kaito cried in desperation, "This was not how it was meant to go, Heiji, _get back here_ or you'll go out of range from Shinichi's healing!"

The knight paced back swiftly a few steps, eyes wide, "I know, I know!" He gritted.

Kaito grimaced, he had never seen _dragons_ in the Black Army, and none of them know an extensive lot about the armoured beasts, which, as the magician quotes Heiji, 'Sucks ass.'

"Saguru, back up Ran – she's low on health – and into formation three, I'll shoot down the damn beast's wings," He gritted. He earned a nod of understanding.

"Shinichi-" Kaito started, but stopped when he saw the boy eyes wide and panting heavily, limbs stiff and heavy and obviously overdoing herself. He looked like he was living a nightmare, with skin pale and legs slightly quivering, but bit his lip and continuing seeping his life force into the staff.

Kaito's eyes softened. Of course he thinks the responsibility would be his when Ran's in such bad shape.

"Kuroba, pay attention!" Saguru gritted out from behind him, and the brunette snapped back to reality.

Throughout the battle, he kept a careful eye on his Cleric friend, away of how his shoulders sagged with every life heal, and the Magician's worry increased threefold.

Kaito wishes, for once, that Shinichi would stop worrying and thinking and taking responsibility for others, but for once, just once, for himself, and realise how much he's hauling on his back, and how much his body is taking the toll.

Kaito just wants to tell him.

 **'** **I love you.'**

 _I can't seem to be able to say them even now…_

But he can't. And it tears him apart from the inside, how much he hates himself for not gathering up enough courage and much less say it in from of the Cleric.

"Shinichi's gone! Kuroba! Snap out of it!"

He hates the weak part of himself.

-.-.-

 _Little by little, from the world,  
Day after day even light and temperature begin to fade._

Heiji doesn't have time to consider such things as 'feelings', when he's fighting to survive. In this world, it is and was always 'kill or be killed'.

Heiji never let his guard down, not when there's people he wants to protect, even if some more reluctantly than others (Saguru). He can't flee; he has to be the shield for everyone here.

He's finally felt the anguish of his absolute defences breaking during the battle with Gin, a commander of the Black Army, at the Lake of Sand.

"Heiji, get back here or you'll go out of range from Shinichi's healing!" Kaito's voice calls out, and Heiji grits his teeth and paces backwards. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Ran sprinting desperately back.

"Dammit, let go of Shinichi!" She screams furiously. Heiji's head whisks around, to find that damn Gin holding a certain dark-haired Cleric, limp and pale in his arms like a ragdoll. His sneer drips venom and triumph, and Heiji feels like punching it right off his face and into the Nine Territories.

"Boss's orders," He laughs, a harsh barking sound, "See you, _brats_."

And he's gone, just like that. Whisked into a black mist and _gone_ , both of them.

Heiji's heart has suddenly lost a huge fragment of itself, shattered, and Heiji can't seem to find it again.

 _It's come the point at which an escape from absolute zero fills the gap between us._

Saguru curses himself. His fury is growing rapidly, and he's only got himself to blame for Shinichi's abduction.

Kaito's stilled. Heiji's trembling, and Ran's slumped on the ground with tears flowing freely. Saguru clenches his fists and walks up to Kaito, the one nearest to him, and slaps him, hard on the cheek, leaving a blazing red mark in it's wake.

"Kudou's gone! Kuroba, snap out of it!" He hisses, fully aware of the remaining goblin pacing towards him and he once again, curses himself, and draws a lone arrow and fires.

The arrow's void of any determination and hope.

-.-.-

Ran's in a daze, her hands trembling while she stirs the soup. Vivid flashes of the day echo through her mind, and she can't seem to push them away.

Her childhood friend, her former neighbour, her first..

No. It's not the time to think these thoughts. She smiles meekly and brings the soup ladle, full of nourishment, towards the bowel, and in her trembling, spills some of it onto the side. The brunette girl sighs, and places the ladle back into the pot.

And she looks back to her remaining teammates, and tries to convince herself.

 _Shinichi's fine_ , she hopes with tears brimming, he'll be fine, we'll be fine, _I'll be fine._

But she knows that these are all empty thoughts, as she brings the ladle upwards once again.

-.-.-

 _You don't hesitate when it comes to  
Saving the lives before your eyes._

Shinichi's woken up to a hand caressing his cheek, and his eyes flicker open, to see a man with empty, soulless staring back at him with a smile. Half of his face is covered by darkness.

"Who are you?" He growls, pulling away.

"Ah ah, Shinichi, that's disrespectful, didn't you know?" He grins.

"Disrespectful?" Shinichi snaps, "Maybe you should tell me where this is and how you know my name before you start calling me _disrespectful_."

"Hm," He hums, "You've sure grown up, haven't you?" He shifts slightly, and Shinichi can't help but really, truly hope that this is all a dream, that it's all fake.

Yuusaku cracks a smile, "Surprised?"

"..Who are you? You're not my father," The Cleric growls, fingers reaching for his staff, but the older man kicks it away.

"I see you've kept my wand, Shinichi," He hums, fingers twirling through his son's hair. Shinichi shivers, but felt his eyes drifting closer and closer together, until everything becomes a whirl of darkness, and he's drifting away.

-.-.-

 _I became unable to hide my out of place feelings  
Whirling inside of me._

"We need to do something, we can't just sit here, dammit," Heiji growls, frustration setting him on edge and ready to snap. He feels like he's lost Kazuha all over again.

"What can we do?" Ran's voice comes out as a shaky whisper, fearful and weak.

Everyone considers this, and it seems like a huge dead-end, a tall, blocky wall in their way. They all despise the feeling of not knowing where to go next. They're lost.

"..Hey, everyone," Kaito begins, and everyone turns their gaze to the magician, "I.. know someone that might be able to help."

Saguru held doubt in his body language, "Are you sure?" He asks slowly. Kaito nods.

"Koizumi Akako, an.. acquaintance of mine."

-.-.-

 _We again avert each other's gazes, our histories, ah.._

"Shit, Koizumi, what do you mean you won't help?" Kaito growls, slamming a fist on the table, and the relics clatter in the wake of the shock.

"Kuroba-kun, I'm not saying I won't help," The Sage's eyes narrow, "But you must be willing to offer something of equal importance to me."

"I'll give anything! Just help me find Shinichi!" He snarled, leaning in further.

"But nothing of yours in enough," Akako snapped back, flicking through a book of tracking spells, accidentally knocking over a Chronicle in her haste. The blue-covered book falls to the ground with a thump.

"Please.." Kaito's voice fades, "Help me."

Akako gives a moment's pause, before turning to the teen boy, "How much do you care for this boy?"

 _Before we knew it, we were fumbling over eternity._

"He saved my life, he saved many others'. He's brave, reckless, selfless, and absolutely ignorant to his own wellbeing. Shinichi's absolutely beautiful. He means the world to me, I.." The brunette swallows thickly, and the red-haired witch listens intently, "I love him."

The Great Sage lets out a breath, before raising a smooth, pale hand, "Very well, I've heard enough, Kuroba-kun," She smiles at the boy with eyes blurred with tears, "Lucifer."

Her crystal orb, shimmering, floats over slowly. Akako smiles towards it, "Go."

Kaito's hands take the crystal ball into his hands, and he looks up to the Sage in awe and gratefulness and the little pieces of tenderness in his eyes, dancing in the candlelight, "Thank you, Akako," He whispers.

"No, thank you, Kaito," Akako gives a tender look, "For showing me," And then she's gone.

-.-.-

 _The hand-with-hand of ours becomes that of an unable-to-lie illness._

"Shinichi," The Cleric boy stirs, and sits up, "It looks like your friends are here."

Shinichi's head snaps up with a jolt, "What?" He asked, eyes wide. Yuusaku's frown grew, "They're close, and you might want to see them again, don't you?" He smiles, and Shinichi finds it way too creepy to be a true emotion.

"Why are you doing this?" He snarls, hands curling into fists.

"Why, you ask?" The man purses his lips, "Because I'm your father, aren't I?"

-.-.-

 _Poor Adam and Eve,  
You could say that they began from here._

"Ah, hello, everyone. You all must be Shinichi's little group."

Saguru's ears prick up at the sound of the voice, "Who's there?!"

He could see Kaito following him, scanning the room, along with Heiji, but Ran stilled almost immediately. She turned around stiffly with a shadow of fear across her face.

"..Kudou-san.." She gulped, and the man stepped out of the shadows. Saguru felt his hackles rise. This man did indeed look exactly like the Cleric. The air suddenly tensed, like it was ready to explode at any moment now.

"Since you took the time to come here, I'd like to see just how much you all treasure my son, that you'd give anything," Yuusaku's smile turned feral, "Including your lives."

Ran's breath hitched, "Y-Yuusaku-san, why are you.."

"Ah, Ran-san. Long time no see," He gave an idle wave.

Saguru growled, and fired one of his more powerful arrows in a split second. To his absolute horror, the arrow was caught in mid-air and snapped into two. The silence only grew heavier.

"Dammit, give Shinichi back-!" Heiji roared, charging towards the man, but his attempts were futile, as he was instantly knocked back with force.

It became a full-blown war, with four-on-one, and the larger team losing rapidly. Without their cleric, their health was decreasing by a wide margin. Saguru cursed, as he was cornered by the man, the Magician and Knight bleeding on the ground, and their Soldier paralysed on the spot.

"Now, now, there's no need to be afr-"

Saguru stood there in horror as the man crumpled to the ground in agony. Behind him, stood Shinichi, hair wild and eyes dull and open in horror. In his hands was a sword – Heiji's.

 _In this twisted romance, there's no one left to observe._

"Shinichi.." He hacked, and gave a regretful smile, "So you'll go this far."

"Yes, tou-san," Shinichi replied blandly, eyes dull, as he raised the sword once again.

"Shinichi-!" Saguru yelled, "Snap out of it!" He held the blue-eyed boy's hand holding the sword, and watched as the Cleric's eyes slowly regain light, before turning towards the blonde in half fear and half puzzlement, "S-Saguru?"

"Shinichi!" Kaito coughed as he pulled himself up, "Are you okay?" He stumbled over to the two.

"Kaito!" Blue eyes widen in horror at the state that the Magician is in, "What happened?" He began to heal the brunette, a gentle blue glow from his hands.

-.-.-

 _Love begins,  
Flowers blossom, and the horizon starts to fade away._

"Hey, Shinichi?"

"Yeah? What is it?"

"Er.."

"Geez, just say it already."

"..I love you."

 _We speak of morals and the world proceeds to be born again._


End file.
